352 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER , 
October  26,  1899. 
DECORATIVE  OUTDOOR  FRUITS. 
With  many  plants,  more  especially  haidy  trees  and  shrubs,  there 
are  two  seasons  of  beauty — spring  and  autumn  ;  spring  with  its  Wealth 
of  bright  flowers,  and  autumn  with  its  glories  of  scarlet,  yellow,  and 
orange  coloured  fruits.  Outdoors,  from  the  beginning  of  September  to 
well  on  into  the  new  year,  a  constant  succession  of  fruits  of  various 
colours  is  maintained,  many  of  which  are  quite  as  handsome  as  a 
display  of  flowers.  The  gorgeous  hues  of  the  berries  of  the  Mountain 
Ash  and  the  Hawthorn  are  surpassed  by  many  of  their  near  allies,  and 
the  scarlet  heps  of  the  wild  Roses  are  second  only  in  beauty  to  their 
flowers.  There  is,  however,  one  drawback  to  these  brightly  coloured 
fruits,  and  that  is  the  fact  that  birds  are  very  fond  of  them,  and  will 
soon  strip  a  tree  of  every  fruit,  leaving  only  the  bare  stalks  to  show 
what  has  been.  Blackbirds,  thrushes,  and  jays  are  great  offenders  in 
this  respect,  though  the  ubiquitous — and  iniquitous — sparrow  can 
also  play  his  part  in  the  work  of  destruction. 
There  are  many  Thorns  which  are  worth  growing  for  the  beauty 
of  their  fruits  alone,  a  few  of  the  best  of  which  are  Crataegus  coccinea, 
a  North  American  species,  with  bright  scarlet  fruits  of  a  medium  size  ; 
C.  coccinea  var.  macracantha,  a  form  with  very  long  spines  and  clusters 
of  small  scarlet  fruits;  C.  mollis,  from  the  United  States,  with  large 
crimson  fruits;  C.  punctata,  also  North  American,  with  large  bright 
red  fruits  about  the  size  of  Crab  Apples,  and  its  var.  xanthocarpa, 
with  yellow  fruits.  The  Cock’s  Spur  Thorn,  C.  crus-galli,  with  red 
fruits,  and  its  var.  splendens  with  fruits  of  a  bright  scarlet  colour ; 
C.  tanacetifolia,  with  large  yellow  Apple-scented  fruits;  C.  orientalis, 
pale  red ;  and  C.  orientalis  var.  sanguinea,  with  deep  ruby-red  fruits, 
are  also  very  showy,  and  are  all  easy  to  grow.  Cratmgus  pyracantha 
and  its  var.  Lelandi  are  both  well-known  plants  which  are  very 
attractive  to  birds,  except  when  on  the  wall  of  a  dwelling-house,  or  a 
place  where  someone  is  moving  about. 
Of  Pyrus  there  are  several  species  which  have  brightly  coloured 
fruits,  notably  P.  baccata,  the  Siberian  Crab,  which  is  laden  every 
year  with  its  bright  scarlet  apples  ;  P.  Ringo,  from  Japan,  a  yellow- 
fruited  Crab  ;  P.  Aria,  the  well-known  White  Beam  Tree,  and  its 
numerous  varieties;  P.  lanata  (Sorbus  majestica),  a  Himalayan 
species,  with  large  corymbs  of  brilliant  scarlet  fruits,  probably  one  of 
the  best  for  outdoor  effect ;  and  P.  Maulei,  Irom  Japan,  with  yellow 
fruits,  which  are  not  very  decorative,  but  are  worth  growing  for  their 
sweet  scent. 
All  the  Cotoneasters  are  charming  plants  when  in  fruit,  but  the 
best  are  C.  frigida,  which  forms  a  plant  12  or  14  leet  high,  laden  with 
bunches  of  bright  scarlet  berries ;  C.  rotundifolia,  about  4  feet  high, 
which  carries  its  brilliant  red  fruits  until  the  spring  ;  and  C.  hoii- 
zontalis,  a  dwarf  spreading  plant  with  small  red  berries,  which  is 
charming  for  rockwork. 
The  Roses  are  all  very  showy  in  the  autumn,  the  heps  of  the  Dog 
Roses  and  the  large  flattened  crimson  fruits  of  Rosa  rugosa  being  well 
known.  There  are  three  others  which  are  distinct  enough  to  be 
mentioned,  viz.,  R.  pomifera,  a  European  'species,  with  large  deep 
crimson  fruits,  which  are  covered  with  black  bristly  hairs ;  R. 
macropbylla,  from  India,  with  large  scarlet  inverted  pear-shaped 
fruits;  and  R.  nutkana,  from  North  America,  the  fruits  of  which  are 
red  and  yellow,  and  ripen  late. 
Although  not  brilliantly  coloured,  the  round  flat  fruits  of  the  Hop 
Tree,  Ptelea  trifoliata,  have  a  certain  beauty  of  their  own,  being  borne 
in  great  numbers,  and  are  of  a  greenish-white  hue,  but  look  white 
when  in  the  full  sunlight.  Magnolia  tripetala  has  large  upright  fruits 
of  a  bright  crimson  colour,  which  are  freely  produced  in  this  country, 
and  form  with  its  large  leaves  an  uncommon,  and  at  the  same  time  a 
pleasing  spectacle.  Tn  a  shrubbery  or  any  odd  corner  the  Spindle 
Tree,  Euonymus  europseus,  makes  a  good  show  in  the  autumn  with  its 
deep  scarlet  fruits,  which  on  expanding  show  the  bright  orange 
coloured  arillus  of  the  seeds. 
The  Sea  Buckthorn,  Hippopbae  rhamnoides,  is  a  charming  plant 
on  the  banks  of  ponds,  or  any  place  where  it  will  not  be  too  dry’- ;  but 
as  the  two  sexes  are  on  separate  plants,  care  must  be  taken  to  plant 
both  together,  or  none  of  its  brilliant  orange  coloured  fruits  will  be 
produced.  These  fruits  remain  on  the  plant  until  March  or  April  of 
the  following  year. 
Where  room  can  be  found  in  the  garden  for  them,  a  plant  of  each 
sex  of  Ailanthus  glandulosa,  the  Tree  of  Heaven,  should  be  growm,  as 
when  in  fruit  it  is  a  brilliant  sight,  with  its  large  clusters  of  long 
winged  fruits,  covering  a  tree  60  or  70  feet  high.  These  fruits  turn  to 
a  beautiful  vermilion  and  yellow  hue  in  the  autumn,  and  make  a 
conspicuous  object  when  lighted  by  the  rays  of  the  sun. 
There  are  many  other  hardy  plants  which  are  beautiful  when  in 
fruit.  Some  of  the  Berberis,  notably  B.  Thunbergi,  are  worth  growing 
for  autumn  effect,  but  mention  has  only  been  made  of  a  few  of  the 
best,  and  those  which  can  be  depended  on  lor  a  display  in  most 
seasons. — C.  <  I 
GARDEN  JOTTINGS  ON  AN  AUTUMN  DAY. 
The  scene  is  changing,  and  the  last  lingering  gleams  of  summer 
are  slowly  lading  away.  Out  in  the  Kentish  fields  there  is  a 
good  deal  of  chaos  and  disorder  inseparable  with  the  season.  No 
longer  do  the  clusters  of  ripening  Hops  hang  from  the  poles,  and 
the  canopied  vistas  of  graceful  foliage  are  gone  for  another  year. 
Instead  of  order  and  beauty  in  the  Hop  gardens,  heaps  of  withered 
bine  and  bundles  of  poles  lie  pell-mell,  waiting  for  the  straightening 
process.  Clusters  of  hoppers’  huts,  which  lor  the  past  few  weeks 
have  represented  animated  villages,  are  now  tenantless  and  empty, 
and  on  tho  mam  roads  leading  Londonwards  may  be  seen  troops  of 
returning  workers  with  little  loads  of  wmrldly  goods  behind  them, 
cheeks  browner  and  healthier,  and,  let  us  hope,  pockets  heavier  than 
when  they  emerged  from  the  metropolis  a  lew  weeks  ago.  Many 
contradictive  statements  have  appeared  in  the  papers  lately  respecting 
the  crop,  but  a  large  grower  speaks  of  it  as  a  record  crop  for  forty 
years,  and  informed  me  recently  that  he  hoped  to  realise  nearly  a  ton 
to  the  acre. 
But  let  us  look  in  the  flower  garden  ;  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  end  is  drawing  near,  and  a  peep  amongst  the  branches  overhead 
shows  the  summer’s  green  slowly  changing  to  autumn’s  gold,  though 
as  yet  the  ripening  tints  are  only  faint.  There  is  a  look  about  the 
flower  beds  that  is  suggestive  of  having  left  them  to  their  fate,  and 
the  reign  of  the  bedding  plants  is  nearly  over.  But  there  is  no  need 
to  repine,  for  so  brilliant  has  the  display  been  all  along,  that  it  seemed 
a  shame  to  spoil  the  beauty  of  the  beds  in  order  to  obtain  the  necessary 
cuttings.  But  it  had  to  be  done,  and  the  bright  sunny  summer  has 
given  to  the  old  bedding  Pelargoniums  a  new  lease  of  favour.  At 
one  time  the  tuberous  Begonia  looked  like  supplanting  it,  but  recent 
experience  has  proved  that  in  a  dry  summer  we  cannot  dispense  with 
Pelargoniums  in  favour  of  Begonias. 
But  the  brightness  of  the  garden  is  by  no  means  over,  for  on  the 
grass  under  the  trees  the  leafless  autumn  Crocuses,  or  Naked  Boys  as 
the  natives  call  them,  are  sending  up  their  pretty  pink  flowers,  and 
long  borders  are  aglow  with  Dahlias.  It  is  gratifying  to  see  how  the 
Dahlia  is  increasing  in  popularity,  particularly  the  Cactus  section,  and 
the  favour  is  by  no  means  confined  to  the  affluent.  It  has  long  been 
a  working  man’s  flower,  but  the  interest  that  was  once  centered  in  the 
large  Show  section  has  been  extended  to  the  Cactus  varieties,  and  in 
many  cottage  gardens  pleasing  collections  may  be  seen.  There  are  a 
few  disappointments,  because  some  sorts  have  a  tendency  to  hide  their 
flowers  among  the  foliage,  which  proves  that  it  is  not  always  wisdom 
to  select  varieties  from  the  show  board  without  having  some  knowledge 
of  the  habit  of  the  plants.  Very  useful  for  decoration  are  the  white 
starry  flowers  of  Chrysanthemum  maximum,  and  I  must  here  say  a 
good  word  for  that  most  useful  annual,  Chrysanthemum  segetum, 
which  is  one  of  the  few’  annuals  which  come  in  with  the  Stocks,  see 
the  entry  and  exit  of  the  Asters,  and  keep  the  Dahlia  company  to 
the  end. 
The  herbaceous  Phloxes  are  yet  beautiful,  and  the  Kniphofias  and 
Japanese  Anemones  still  remain  with  Michaelmas  Daisies  following 
one  another  in  succession  as  long  as  autumnal  days  last,  I  have  no 
room  to  particularise,  but  no  herbaceous  garden  can  be  considered 
complete  without  a  selection  of  Michaelmas  Daisies,  some  tall  and 
conspicuous,  and  others  dwarf  and  so  small  flowered  as  to  be  almost 
insignificant,  and  yet  there  is  not  one  without  its  share  of  grace  and 
beauty.  Some  of  the  early  flowering  Chrysanthemums  aie  bright 
and  showy,  such  as  Madame  C.  Desgranges  and  Lady  Fitzwigram, 
but  we  are  yet  anticipating  the  brightest  display,  for  a  few  favourable 
autumns  have  been  incentive  to  wider  planting  out  of  doors. 
It  is  with  feelings  of  anticipation  and  hope  that  one  turns  into  the 
Rose  garden  at  this  time  of  the  year,  for  there  is  always  a  possibility 
of  finding  one  ot  those  beautiful  autumn  flowers  which  never  fail  to 
charm.  One  morning  it  was  an  A.  K.  Williams,  a  charming  flower, 
and  all  the  more  welcome  because  this  variety  has  never  done  itself 
justice  under  the  tropical  summer  sunshine.  Though  there  is  an 
uncertainty  about  finding  a  flower  now  among  the  H.P.’s,  we  turn  to 
the  Teas  with  confidence,  and  herein  lies  the  charm  of  this  section. 
You  never  know  when  you  have  finished  with  the  Tea  Roses,  and 
last  winter,  some  weeks  after  Christmas,  a  friend  handed  me  a  lovely 
Anna  Olivier  for  a  buttonhole  which  he  had  just  cut  from  the  garden. 
Another  phase  of  Rose  beauty  lies  in  a  bed  of  Rosa  rugosa  which  has 
done  flowering  long  ago,  and  in  their  place  there  is  a  wealth  of  bronzy 
yellow  seed  pods  that  are  even  more  charming  than  the  flowers 
themselves. 
On  walls,  arches,  and  arbours  there  are  signs  that  summer  is  at  an 
end,  for  Ampelopsis  Veitchi  is  assuming  a  yellow  tint,  the  Traveller’s 
Joy  is  wreathed  with  its  fluffy  plumes,  and  the  berries  of  Crataegus 
pyracantha  are  daily  becoming  redder.  I  fain  would  wander  on  and 
make  observations  in  the  kitchen  garden,  which  has  interests  of  a 
utilitarian  character,  and  thence  to  the  orchard  and  fruit  quarters, 
where  ripening  Apples  show  rosy  cheeks  amid  leathery  leaves,  but 
the  editorial  pruning  shears  forbid. — G.  H.  H. 
